HAWKISH Synonyms: 37 Similar and Opposite Words

hawkish

adjective

Definition of hawkish

as in warlike

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hawkish While not a demand issue, concerns include dot-com-era valuations, a hawkish Fed, and doubts about AI infrastructure returns. — Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Or, perhaps, the hopes of a less hawkish Federal Reserve, thanks to the cool June jobs report, keeps the broadening trade alive at the expense of the first-half winners. — Zev Fima,kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 5 July 2026 BofA’s new Fed prediction Bank of America reversed a previous forecast Monday and predicted the Fed will hike rates a quarter-point in September, October, and December after Fed chair Kevin Warsh signaled unexpectedly hawkish views at last week's FOMC meeting. — Diane Brady, Fortune, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for hawkish

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hawkish

Adjective

The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
One of the world’s most cooperative mammals is also one of its most warlike.

— Big Think, Big Think, 8 May 2026

Definition of warlike

Adjective

An official plot synopsis has yet to be released, but season 3 ended with several threats still looming, from the snaky Agent Musso (Kevin Pollak) to the bloodthirsty Renzetti family and Kansas City crime boss Bill Bevilaqua (Frank Grillo).

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
In more recent years, the culture wars waged by India’s ruling Hindu nationalists have complicated the image of Tipu and his father, who some now have recast as bloodthirsty Muslim warlords rather than icons of national resistance.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 2 July 2026

Definition of bloodthirsty

Adjective

The seemingly militaristic act of archery and peaceful meditation may seem diametrically opposed.

— Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
In militaristic sync as they pound treadmills, down protein shakes and take steroid injections in the buttocks, a gymnasium full of lavishly buff (even 24-packed, to quote a droll visual gag) gay men blankly sing the praises of the body-beautiful lifestyle to a pounding EDM beat.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 May 2026

Definition of militaristic

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hawking

hawkish

hawks

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“Hawkish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkish. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of hawkish

adjective

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